Patrick Ferguson

Portrait, made between 1774 and 1777

Patrick Ferguson (born 1744 in Pitfour , Aberdeenshire , † October 7, 1780 in Kings Mountain , North Carolina ) was a British weapons designer and officer .

Life

Ferguson rifle

Memorial stone at Kings Mountain

In July 1759 Ferguson began his military career as a cornet with the Royal North British Dragoons . For the next two years he studied engineering at the Royal Military Academy Woolwich .

In the spring of 1761 he set out for continental Europe to take part in the Seven Years' War with his regiment . He served in Germany and Flanders . Ferguson had to return to the UK because of health problems with his legs, likely caused by tuberculosis . He recovered, but a slight limp remained. In 1768 he moved to the 70th Regiment of Foot ; with this unit he went to the West Indies and came back to Great Britain in 1772. The British Army introduced light infantry in 1771 . Ferguson was sent to a training camp and developed into an advocate for the light infantry.

He began working on a breech-loading rifle at his own expense . In 1776 he presented the prototype of the Ferguson rifle to British officers and George III. in front. In January 1777 he got permission to set up a small unit to use in the American Revolutionary War . He trained about 200 recruits in Chatham on his rifle. On May 1, he was officially released from the 70th regiment and placed in command of the two rifle companies. He arrived in New York City in late May .

On September 4, Ferguson led a small unit to the location educate . He recognized two American officers, most likely George Washington and Kazimierz Pułaski . Since he neither recognized them nor wanted to shoot them from behind, he let them go unmolested.

Ferguson led his units on September 11th at the Battle of Brandywine , where he was wounded in the right elbow by a musket ball. He had to spend some time in the hospital and then learn to reload his rifle with just one arm. The Commander in Chief of the British Army in North America, William Howe , disbanded Ferguson's rifle companies in the winter. Howe's successor, Henry Clinton gave him the order to attack the pirate bases in New Jersey , which Ferguson carried out on October 6, 1778 in the Battle of Chestnut Neck and on October 15, 1778 in the Battle of Little Egg Harbor .

In 1779 he built defensive positions at Stony Point and Verplanck's Point . On December 1, 1779, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and commanded loyalists . Later in December, he set sail from New York to support the siege of Charleston, South Carolina . In February 1780, he and his unit marched from Savannah, Georgia to Charleston. On March 14th, British troops attacked Ferguson camp, mistaking it for American. Ferguson was wounded by a bayonet. On April 14th he successfully participated in the battle of Monck's Corner , on April 18th he was promoted to major of the 71st Regiment of Foot . His unit took a redoubt at Charleston and on May 2nd occupied the previously abandoned Fort Moultrie . Clinton asked Ferguson to set up a loyal militia unit in the Southern Provinces, whereupon he set off for the South Carolina hinterland on May 26th . However, Ferguson was hindered by his direct superior Charles Cornwallis ; Cornwallis did not allow Ferguson to set up the militia until mid-July. With the unit set up in Ninety Six, South Carolina , Ferguson was only moderately successful, as he could rarely put the Americans in a fight.

When Cornwallis launched an offensive against North Carolina in September , Ferguson was supposed to cover the western flank. On September 12, Ferguson was able to defeat an American unit. On September 18, he unsuccessfully pursued American troops who had previously besieged Augusta, Georgia . He threatened the local American militia, the so-called Overmountain Men , that they would hang their leaders and devastate the country if they turned against the British. Ferguson underestimated his opponent; rather than intimidating the Americans, the threat made them more determined. The Americans surrounded Ferguson's unit on October 6th, Kings Mountain, North Carolina, and defeated them the following day in the Battle of Kings Mountain . After launching some unsuccessful counter-attacks and ignoring calls to surrender , Ferguson was killed in an attempt to break out.

After Ferguson's death, the rifle he had developed was forgotten.

literature

Marianne McLeod Gilchrist: Patrick Ferguson. "A Man of Some Genius". NMS Enterprises, 2003, ISBN 978-1-901663-74-7 .

Web links

Commons : Patrick Ferguson - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Spencer C. Tucker (Ed.): American Revolution: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection. Verlag ABC-CLIO , 2018, ISBN 978-1-85109-744-9 , pp. 509-511 ( Google Books ).
^ ^A ^b ^c Robert L. Tonsetic: Special Operations in the American Revolution. Casemate Verlag, 2013, ISBN 978-1-61200-165-4 , pp. 168-174 ( Google Books ).
^ ^A ^b ^c Michael Lee Lanning: The American Revolution 100. The Battles, People, and Events of the American War for Independence. Sourcebooks publishing house, 2009, ISBN 978-1-4022-4730-9 , pp. 327-328 ( Google Books ).

personal data
SURNAME	Ferguson, Patrick
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	British weapons designer and officer
DATE OF BIRTH	1744
PLACE OF BIRTH	Pitfour , Aberdeenshire
DATE OF DEATH	October 7, 1780
Place of death	Kings Mountain , North Carolina

[Tucker-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Spencer C. Tucker (Ed.): American Revolution: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection. Verlag ABC-CLIO , 2018, ISBN 978-1-85109-744-9 , pp. 509-511 ( Google Books ).

[Tonsetic-2] A ^b ^c Robert L. Tonsetic: Special Operations in the American Revolution. Casemate Verlag, 2013, ISBN 978-1-61200-165-4 , pp. 168-174 ( Google Books ).

[Lanning-3] A ^b ^c Michael Lee Lanning: The American Revolution 100. The Battles, People, and Events of the American War for Independence. Sourcebooks publishing house, 2009, ISBN 978-1-4022-4730-9 , pp. 327-328 ( Google Books ).